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Land Line telephone wiring/wireless question

My father is in a nursing home. Previously, he was getting telephone service via a Phone Modem Thingie (black box) that had the side effect of adding caller ID to his TV screen. Given his diabilities, this is great for him, because he can navigate the cable box menu to see his caller ID information. He is also extremely limited in the type of phone that he can work, so changing physical phones isn't a legitimate option.

Long story short, his new home won't let him run the cables from the cable jack to his bedside to be able to use the Phone Modem, so he has to use their phone provider. That will likely eat his caller ID information, because it is a different type of account.

We could solve all of this by having him use his phone modem, and having the desktop phone conencted to the phone modem through the air via radio waves. But is there a thing that takes a wired phone connection and makes it wireless? The only such thing I'm aware of is the power line networking stuff, and in a big nursing home full of high-power equipment I don't know how that would work.

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You could use 2 wireless access points set as an ethernet bridge (or just get an ethernet bridge). I have this in my house because there's no cable jack in the room we use as an office, so I have the cable modem on the other side of the house. cable modem -> AP -> AP -> router. Basically the two access points act as a wireless ethernet cable.

There is a sorta-kinda solution. There are phone systems with multiple handset stations. I have one in the office with one wired and one wireless handset. I've seen them with up to four handsets, and with either wired or wireless bases, with or without answering machines and such, but the one I have would work for you, maybe even a cheaper one without an answering machine built in.

The main base has to be connected to the jack, but the wireless handsets only have a charger station that plugs into the wall, and connect through the base - I can put the charger anywhere I want without needing access to a jack. One of those might work for you. Set up the base connected to the modem near the jack and just put the second handset closer to him.

This is telephone, not ethernet, so I don't think a wireless bridge will work from what I understand.

Running the cable isn't an option because of the way the room is set up (equipment, etc). Essentially anywhere I would run it would have an uncovered run, and so they are concerned about it being a hazard. Plus, the phone is moved around a lot depending on where dad is.

As for the phones with base stations and secondary handsets, Dad needs a huge-ass old fashioned office-style phone to be able to work the buttons. Everything I have ever seen like that is like my phone at home - sleek and pretty and requiring manual dexterity that he doesn't have.

Anyone know of any other ideas, like a radio-based wireless jack or some other thing I don't know about?

Another option, in a different vein - can I port a landline to a google voice account?

I recently looked into this through work, and no. They only port wireless numbers, and only ones under AT&T, T-mobile, Verizon, and Sprint. I've seen it suggested online to switch the landline over to a pay-as-you-go plan under one of them, then switch to Google, but I don't know if it would actually work and it would add complication and expense to the whole process. It is supposed to be your legal right to take your personal phone number anywhere... but the carriers don't cooperate as much as you'd like.

As for the phones: How big of buttons are we talking about? Uniden makes some models with pretty big buttons, but they're a bit harder to find in stores. Around here office stores are the best bet.

As for the phones: How big of buttons are we talking about? Uniden makes some models with pretty big buttons, but they're a bit harder to find in stores. Around here office stores are the best bet.

I'll check out the Unidens - but I haven't seen one with a good wireless desk phone. For example, the Uniden I have at home is a candybar style cordless handheld. He needs bigish buttons, separated from one another to avoid misdialing. He can't pick up the phone. The best analogy I have is that he needs a phone that you or I could work from 4 feet away with a crooked stick.

Since it's that bad, the ones I'm thinking of won't be good enough. They have some good accessibility models, but I don't think anything quite as accessible as he needs, except in base units, which would mean running a wire, which is already out. So I guess that idea is bust.